National Parks
by Shae-Lynn1
Summary: CJ/Toby “You know what, Toby? Somehow I’m going to find a way we can both make up for this year’s depressing vacations.”
1. Some Vacation

**A/N: Decided to write a new story with a slightly lighter tone than my last one. ****Set somewhere around Seasons 2-3 but the only possible spoiler is for The Long Goodbye. This one is CJ/Toby and I'd appreciate your feedback!**

**Rating: M (in later chapters)**

**Disclaimer: Tragically, they're not mine.**

* * *

A very tanned Carol met CJ the moment she got in the door of the West Wing. Her boss was dressed for the warm weather in a cap-sleeved dark pink blouse and black A-line skirt with sling-back sandals.

"Hi, boss," Carol greeted with a smile, "Have a good vacation?"

"Great," she replied unenthusiastically as she headed to her office, Carol following at her heels.

"Now that you and Josh are back Leo wants senior staff at eleven. And Hogan called to let you know she got into that writing program you were helping her apply for."

"That's great! Remind me later today if I haven't had time to call her back." They rounded the corner to CJ's office and CJ started unpacking the files from her briefcase.

"How about you? Did you enjoy your time off? You look good. Get some beach time in?" CJ asked. Carol beamed.

"It was great. Two weeks with nothing but me, the sand and the Gulf of Mexico."

"So you're not really sharing my happiness at getting back to work, huh?"

"Not so much." Just then Josh stuck his head in the office door. CJ couldn't help but notice he sported a tan even darker than Carol's.

"Hey," he said. "You know senior staff's at eleven, right?" He passed behind Carol and took a seat on the couch.

"Yes," CJ said, "And what is it with you people? Am I the only one in the West Wing who couldn't be in a Club Med commercial right now?"

"Well you could," Josh suggested, "You'd be the before picture." CJ glared at him.

"Thanks. Good to see you, too."

"So you guys are back," observed Sam, appearing in the doorway.

"I'm gonna go work on my email backlog," Carol said, excusing herself.

"Sam," CJ said. "Thank God there's someone else in this building who looks as pale as I do."

"Yes, but I wasn't on vacation," Sam pointed out. "Andrew and Jack did ok with the briefings when you were gone. No major screw-ups. Oh, and the President's been back from Manchester since Friday and I hear he wants to roll out some feel-good announcement."

"On what?" Josh asked.

"I don't know. But it's good to have you both back. Did you bring me anything from Maui?" he asked Josh.

"Only the finest Hawaiian-print shirt in the entire state," Josh said. "It's in my office. All I can say is it's too bad we don't have casual Fridays around here, because this shirt would be your MVP."

"Nothing for your friend CJ?" she asked, faking hurt.

"They didn't have anything in extra-extra-tall," he deadpanned. She stuck her tongue out at him and he broke into a smile. "Just kidding. I brought you back that coffee you wanted. How was Dayton?" Josh replied.

"It was fine," CJ said, quickly changing the subject: "Have you seen Toby?"

"I think he's with Leo," Sam said, "You know he was in every day for at least six hours and when he wasn't I think he was at the Library of Congress."

"Yeah. There is a guy who is not good at taking a vacation," Josh commented.

_I know how that feels_, thought CJ.

Donna came up behind Sam. "Josh? I have Congresswoman Thompson on the phone for you. She said you were expecting her call?" Josh stood and headed for the door.

"Yeah. Thanks, Donna."

"Good to see you, CJ," Donna said before heading down the hall behind Josh.

"I should let you get organized," said Sam before turning and heading back to his own office. CJ sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. Checking her email she saw she had ninety-four messages to wade through. She clicked open the first one. After a vacation like hers, she couldn't wait to get back to work.

-~-

When she got to Leo's office later that morning Toby was already there, sitting on the sofa, writing in a legal pad. He looked up when she came in. He noticed she looked tired.

"Hey," she smiled. "How's it going?" She came over and took a seat next to him.

"Fine. How was Dayton?"

"Ok. Well, it rained the whole time. Some kind of freak weather system." He saw through her, knew she was avoiding the question he was really asking.

"How was your dad?" She sighed and looked down at her hands resting in her lap.

"Not good," she said after a minute, "At one point when Michael was there Dad tried to ground him. He kept getting ready in the morning as if was going to work. I spent the whole time reminding him I'm his daughter and trying to make sure he didn't do anything that could accidentally get him killed," she said, voice strained. She looked up at him, saw the compassion and empathy in his dark eyes. "But then there was this one point," she continued, voice barely above a whisper and then she stopped suddenly, hearing someone come in.

"CJ, good to have you back," Leo said with a smile, heading around to take a seat at his desk. "How was your vacation?"

"Good. Well, rainy," she responded. Toby marvelled at how she erased all indication of the sadness that had been evident a few minutes earlier.

"This one point?" he prodded softly. Sam and Josh were coming in and Leo was distracted, but she waved him off.

"Never mind."

"Good to have everyone back," Leo said, starting the meeting. Sam took a seat in the guest chair and Josh stood behind him. "As you know, the President's been back for a couple of days and like every time he goes on vacation he comes up with a new policy idea for us to put out there. He wants to see everyone in the Oval at four-thirty to discuss it."

"What is it?" Josh asked.

"I'm not sure what he's settled on, but a feel-good announcement of some kind. Reinvesting in public broadcasting or community health centres, forest rangers or something like that," Leo said.

"It's not a bad idea for this time of year," Sam said, "Helps inoculate against the view that we're only responsive rather than proactive. Of course there are bigger things we could be using to show that."

"Yeah, and we'll do those things. But the President says this will be something people can get in the short-term. But until we find out what it is, let's continue. CJ, I understand you might be getting some questions today about US-Canada border issues?"

"So I hear. Apparently the Prime Minister wants us to lift the ban on Canadians with HIV visiting the United States."

"There's a ban?" Josh said.

"Yes and we'd support lifting it but I'm not sure we'll get the legislative backing. And I don't think we want the media spending too much time on the issue either way," Leo replied. "Got something else to give them instead, CJ?"

"We commissioned a report on the state of the Pacific salmon fishery that just came back, but I haven't seen how we plan to deal with the results," CJ replied.

"Say we just got it back and we're studying the recommendations, which upon first glance look like they support the urgency of the President's environmental action plan. Say that we're confident the report will give the House and Senate even more reason to work with us to pass the action plan," instructed Toby. CJ nodded, making notes on her legal pad.

"I just saw a thing out of California that said wine exports have risen dramatically thanks to the trade agreement we helped negotiate," Sam suggested.

"Ok, that's good," Leo said. "Josh, did Congresswoman Thompson get back to you about her standardized testing amendment?"

"Yes, and I think she's going to be willing to drop it if the President supports building a new federal courthouse in her district."

"Weren't we going to do that anyway? I heard the old one was in pretty rough shape," Sam asked.

"Yeah, but she didn't know that," Josh said.

"Ok, good. That's all I had for now. If no one else has anything I'll see you at four-thirty," Leo said, "Josh, can I see you a minute?" Josh stayed behind while the rest of them headed back towards their offices. In the hall Toby took CJ's elbow and manoeuvred her back behind Sam.

"Come over later for a drink. You can finish what you were going to say earlier," he suggested in a low voice. She hadn't realized until he said it that she'd wanted him to ask. She knew from experience how these things went with him: something about his dark, sad eyes, his quiet compassion, and a couple glasses of wine always pulled secrets out of her she didn't know she had.

"Yeah, ok."

Other people had therapists; CJ had Toby, although she doubted other people felt the overwhelming urge to kiss their therapists after a session. Of course, the one time she'd followed through on that, her timing had been so off she was surprised he'd ever asked her back. But that was years ago and many other mistakes had been made and forgiven since then.

-~-

"I was walking on the farm a little over a week ago in Manchester. And I got to thinking about a time in this country's past: a time when America faced threats from abroad and division here at home, a time when many, many Americans struggled to put food on the table. It was a time when the national mood was characterized by uncertainty and doubt, when people watched their dreams and livelihoods go up in smoke, or blow away like the dust covering their barren fields." President Bartlet paused and looked around at his senior staff sitting on the Oval Office sofas, meeting each of their eyes.

"When we were on the campaign we talked about making a new pact with the American people. Another New Deal, if you will. Now we're here and I know a lot of times it seems like that dream is lost in the dust as well. But we have to recapture the ideals that brought us here. And one way we can do that is by re-investing in our National Parks," he finished, looking around to see some tentative nodding from his audience.

"Did you have any specific plans, Sir?" Leo asked.

"I wanted to get your feedback first, but the last report the Parks Service sent us says they have a maintenance backlog that will take over 7 billion dollars to clear. I'm not saying we can get that, but we have to do something real, something major."

"Well I think it'll play well in our target areas," Sam said.

"Yes and I agree parks are good policy, but with all due respect, Mr. President, we're already pulling pretty hard to get the votes needed for your environmental action plan. It's going to be hard to convince the blue dogs and the moderate Republicans to go in for increased spending on another environmental policy at the same time," Josh pointed out.

"It's not about the environment; it's about economics. It's about labour. It's about creating good-quality jobs that will also be good for America. More than that, it's about our identity. It's about the idea that the most historically important and naturally beautiful areas of our country should be preserved and made available to everyone, not just the most privileged among us," Bartlet argued.

"I'll look at the numbers, see what I can find," Josh offered, conceding the point.

"When are you planning to announce?" CJ asked.

"I'd like to have something together for mid-September. And I'd like to visit one of the nearby parks, make the announcement there." The President was greeted with blank stares. "Please tell me you know the nearby National Parks."

"I know we're technically in one now," Sam offered.

"Well that wasn't quite what I had in mind. Please tell me someone on my senior staff other than Leo has spent at least one night in one of our many outstanding National Parks, of whose value I've just been speaking so highly. And sleeping on your office couch doesn't count." Toby looked down at his notepad. Josh and Sam exchanged guilty looks.

"I sort of remember going camping at a National Park when I was a Boy Scout," Sam suggested. Toby snorted.

"I thought Orange County Boy Scouts' idea of roughing it was going 24 hours without air conditioning."

"So I suppose you can tell me about all your many wonderful National Park experiences, Toby," Bartlet prodded. Toby looked sheepish.

"I once visited Mount Rushmore. And whenever I fly over the Grand Canyon I very much appreciate the views."

"Four or five years ago my dad and my brothers and I went camping for almost a week at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northern Ohio. It was a...special experience," CJ said wistfully.

"I'm glad someone in here has some basic understanding of what I'm talking about. CJ, you're in charge of finding me a location for the announcement."

"Yes, Sir."

"All right, people. Let's make this happen," The President ordered.

-~-

"You've flown over the Grand Canyon?" CJ snickered. She was sitting with her legs folded underneath her on the sofa in Toby's dimly lit living room, a nearly empty glass of red wine in her hand. Toby set down his glass of whisky on the table beside him and leaned forward in his armchair.

"I admit more brilliant things have come out of my mouth. But you didn't come over to make fun of me."

"I never have to make a plan to do that," she grinned and reached over to the bottle of wine on the side table to refill her glass. She took a drink, looking at Toby over the rim of her glass. His eyes looked straight into hers, waiting her out. She sighed. "I took my dad for a walk. It had stopped raining for a bit and I thought the air might do him good. It did. He was remembering better and he was asking me about my job and about the President. But he started getting tired after about ten minutes and we headed back." CJ paused and took another drink of wine, trying to swallow the tightness in her throat. Toby just kept waiting patiently, his attention entirely on her.

She continued, "We saw his next-door neighbour out in his yard and he says, 'Hi, Tal. Nice break in the weather.' And I could tell my dad didn't remember this guy who'd lived next to him for decades. But he waved and we headed up our steps and we're standing at the front door and I've got my hand on the doorknob and he grabs my sleeve and says, 'Claudia Jean, you can't let me live like this anymore.'" Her voice broke and a tear slid down her cheek. Toby came over to sit beside her on the sofa. He wanted to, but he didn't reach up to brush away the tear. He wasn't sure if that would be crossing a line. She looked at him, eyes wet and he felt his heart fracture at the sadness he saw reflected there.

"Did you tell Michael?" he asked gently.

"Yes. He bit my head off. He doesn't want to let go. Neither do I! But I wouldn't want to live like that, either. Would you?"

"No," Toby admitted. She swallowed hard. He wanted to take her in his arms, let her sadness seep into him so she didn't need to feel it herself. But he just squeezed her shoulder briefly and stood up to move back to the armchair, where hopefully some physical distance would stop him from doing anything stupid.

"Anyway, I can't do anything about it. I can't do anything," she said softly, trying to regain her composure. She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Some vacation, huh?" he observed wryly. She gave him a weak smile.

"I heard you didn't get much of one, either," she said.

"I got a lot of reading in."

"But seeing Josh and Carol all tanned and relaxed don't you wish you had another two weeks to go lie on a beach somewhere?"

"Hmm, I'm not really a beach person."

"I would never have guessed," she said dryly.

-~-

"National Parks," mused Toby between puffs on his cigar, enjoying how the smoke cleared his head after the whiskey-induced haze. He was leaning back in the armchair and CJ was lying curled on her side on the couch looking at him foggily, the nearly empty bottle of wine on the floor in front of her.

"National Parks," she repeated. "You know, I should be more grateful for the good times with my dad. Like that time we went camping. I should remember that more." She watched Toby blowing smoke rings, imagined her mouth on his, sharing the taste of the cigar and whiskey, feeling his tongue warm against hers and his beard scratching her chin. She tried to will herself to snap out of those thoughts. She knew it must be late and she worried she'd already stayed too long but her body felt heavy with the wine and she didn't want to move. "What time is it?"

"Two-thirty." he replied, reading the clock behind her.

"I should go," she said, slowly starting to move up to a sitting position, feeling dizzy.

"Yeah, ok," he acknowledged a hint of disappointment in his voice he hoped she wouldn't pick up on. "But you can't drive. Stay there and I'll call you a cab," he suggested, putting his cigar in the ashtray before going into the kitchen to use the phone. A couple minutes later he brought her out a tall glass of water.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. After she drank the water she got up. "I'm gonna get my shoes." He followed her into the front hall and pushed aside the front curtain to look into the street as she leaned down to put on her sandals.

"I think your taxi's here." She stood up and turned to him.

"Thank you," she said, and he knew she was thanking him for more than just calling her a cab.

"Anytime," he said sincerely.

"You know what, Toby?" she said.

"What?"

She reached up and placed a hand lightly on his cheek, smiling. "Somehow I'm going to find a way we can both make up for this year's depressing vacations." He smiled back and instead of saying something sarcastic, he just replied truthfully, "That sounds good."

He watched her get into the taxi, then shut the door and stood in the hallway. He raised a hand to the place she had touched his face and tried to recapture the feeling of her fingers on his skin.

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**Please review or PM me – all comments appreciated!  
**


	2. The Challenge

**All right – here's Chapter 2. I'd appreciate any feedback, so please review!**

**Also a belated thanks to CJ.T for beta-ing for me again – you are awesome!**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

CJ pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes. The lights in the Roosevelt Room made her head ache and she wished she'd had another hour of sleep the night before.

"Ok, I got a list of the National Parks within a two-hour drive from here," Donna announced, passing out papers to Josh, CJ, and Sam, who were seated around the table.

"Thanks, Donna," Josh said.

"Are you ok, CJ?" Donna asked. CJ looked up to see Donna looking at her with concern. She smiled wanly.

"Yeah," CJ answered, taking the list from her and starting to look it over. "Any idea which one we should pick?" Donna sat down across the table.

"Well the closest one I've camped at was in Vermont, so I don't have personal experience with any of these. There's Assateague Island. That looked pretty."

"Apparently they have wild horses," Sam offered.

"I'm not wild about wild horses wandering into our press conference," CJ replied.

"Then there's Lynn Lake. It's an hour's drive. It has camping, fishing, and swimming at man-made beaches along the lake," Donna continued.

"That sounds good," Josh agreed.

"We'd better make sure there's nothing controversial in the park's history," said Sam. Donna nodded, taking notes.

"CJ, how soon can you get an advance team there to check it out?" Josh asked.

"Maybe Friday," CJ replied.

"I have another idea," Donna interjected. They all looked at her expectantly. "Why don't you guys go?" She was met by blank stares. She continued, "You said the President thought you should know the National Parks better. So why don't you guys go to check it out, just for the weekend? It could be fun." CJ considered. It might be just the thing she was looking for. She looked at Josh and Sam, gauging their reactions. Sam looked interested.

"That could work," Sam admitted. Josh was frowning.

"I just got back from vacation," he said.

"It wouldn't be a vacation. It'd just be a weekend and you'd kind of be working. You go down on Friday after work and even if you wanted to stay Sunday night you could be back at work by ten on Monday," Donna said.

"What if anything happens here?" he asked.

"I checked and you should get cell phone reception while you're there."

"If there's a crisis on Friday we won't go," CJ assured him.

"Yeah, ok." Josh nodded, looking more comfortable with the idea. Donna smiled with relief.

"But you have to come, too," CJ said, pointing her pen at Donna. Donna looked up, surprised.

"Me?"

"Sure. You think I'm going to spend a weekend in the wilderness with these city boys?" Donna looked hopefully at Josh for permission. He shrugged.

"Ok!" she said brightly, turning back to CJ.

"Great." CJ smiled.

"I'll call and book a campsite," Donna offered. Just then, a thought hit CJ and she froze.

"Wait!" she interrupted.

"What?" Sam said.

"What about Toby?" She couldn't imagine him camping but after their conversation last night the last thing she wanted to do was leave him behind.

"He'll never go," Sam stated.

"There's no point in even asking," Donna agreed. CJ recognized she was disappointed but she didn't know what to say; they were right. "Can you see Toby trying to pitch a tent?" Donna continued. Josh and Sam laughed and even CJ cracked a smile.

"Now that you mention it," Josh said with a sly grin, "I think the trip would be infinitely more entertaining if we could get Toby to come with us." Sam looked at him suspiciously.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well first we try to persuade him. Then if that fails we'll figure something else out."

"I'm up for the challenge," CJ agreed, realizing that she really wanted Toby to come, not for entertainment or because she felt she owed him, but just to be with him away from work for once.

"Me too," Sam said. Donna nodded.

"Whoever gets him to agree to come collects $10 from everyone else here," Josh suggested. He looked around to see everyone else nodding. They had a plan.

-~-

Seeing CJ at the doorway of his office, Toby said loudly, "For the hundredth time, I'm not going." He knew how little sleep she must've had the night before but standing there in her light blue pencil skirt and white blouse she didn't look tired. She was brightened by something about this idea. And as much as he hated to admit it, it was hard not to find her enthusiasm contagious.

"It'll be fun," she argued. Toby exhaled loudly as he summoned his arguments again.

"That's what Donna said and I think you people have a strange way of defining fun. Mosquitoes are not fun. A weekend without indoor plumbing is not fun. I support parks. I support the right of the American people to go camping. But I also respect the rights of those who refuse to have anything to do with it."

"Well it's too bad you're going to pass up seeing me in my new swimsuit," she countered instead. Toby blinked and hesitated for a second before changing the subject.

"I got the list of groups who'll endorse the targets the President's setting in the Environmental Action Plan," he said, pulling a piece of paper off a stack on the top of his desk and handing it to her.

"Thanks," CJ said, taking it from him and starting to look it over.

"So this new swimsuit..."

"Um, Toby? Is this a typo?" she moved to show him the item she was referring to, smiling at the mortified look he got as he realized what she was talking about.

"Ginger!" he yelled. In a minute Ginger appeared in the doorway of his office.

"Yeah?" she answered, looking nervous.

"I thought I asked you to get an endorsement from the New England Naturalists," he said, frustrated.

"I did. They're on there," she defended.

"No. According to this list you got an endorsement from the New England _Naturists_," he emphasized loudly. CJ covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"There's a difference?" Ginger asked. Toby threw up his hands.

"Yes, there's a difference! A _naturalist_ is someone who plants trees and paints fish symbols on storm drains. A _naturist _is someone who pushes for nudists' rights. I'd say that's a difference." CJ couldn't take it anymore and dissolved into laughter, doubling over. Ginger looked quickly back and forth between Toby and CJ, unsure of what reaction she should be having. Toby noticed and shot a quick glare at CJ, who held up a hand.

"Sorry," she said between giggles.

"Oh, God. I'll fix it," Ginger said, choosing to respond to Toby's reprobation. She turned quickly and headed back to her desk.

"Fix it quietly," Toby yelled after her. Then he turned back to CJ, who was wiping away a tear.

"That could've been bad, you know," he said, trying to stay serious but letting a smile through. It was hard to stay too angry when she was laughing like that. She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.

"You're just upset because you're worried they could've converted the President to their cause," she teased. He grinned back.

"Is there any chance they could've converted you? Because that could make me overlook the other stuff," he suggested. She raised an eyebrow.

"Come to Lynn Lake with us and I'll let you try to convince me."

-~-

"I have the draft Labour Day statement," Sam said, handing Toby a copy. Toby leaned back in his desk chair and began to look it over. After a couple of minutes he realized Sam was still standing there and looked up. "Was there something else?"

"So, I was thinking..." Sam began.

"No," Toby stated, looking down at the speech again. Sam continued, ignoring him.

"I was thinking, with the way we're sitting most of the day, we should try to get more exercise. And you know, I've never seen you use the gym here."

"I've used the gym here," Toby interjected without looking up.

"So I was thinking..."

"No."

"You could get some exercise if you..."

"No."

"... came camping with us this weekend."

"No," Toby repeated, increasingly exasperated.

"CJ got a new swimsuit," Sam offered.

"No."

"Well, I tried," Sam said with a shrug.

"I'll let you know later about the statement."

-~-

"Toby," Josh said, coming in and taking a seat on Toby's office couch.

"If you're here about the camping trip, the answer I've been giving everyone since yesterday is no," Toby said, glancing up from his work.

"That's not why I'm here," Josh lied, "I just wanted to get your opinion on this thing with Congresswoman Thompson."

"Standardized testing? I thought you said she was going to drop it."

"She is. But I met with her and then I had Donna do some looking into it and I think there are some arguments to be made as to why it's not such a bad thing."

"The teachers hate it and there's no evidence it works, so tell me what legitimate arguments you have," Toby challenged. Josh paused; he didn't have any. "You know there are arguments but you don't know what they are. I agree with Leo: you need an intern."

"I don't need an intern," Josh said indignantly.

"You put too much on Donna. You two could use some extra help."

"Why don't _you_ need an intern, then?"

"Because I'm not already totally dependent on someone to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Oh yeah? I bet I can go longer without asking Donna to do something for me than you can without asking Ginger," Josh challenged, standing up. Toby raised his eyebrows.

"You sure you want to do that?"

"Yes," Josh said. "And if I win, you have to come camping with us." Toby smirked confidently.

"If I win, you, Sam, Donna and CJ all have to stop asking me to go."

"Deal," Josh agreed, coming over and extending his hand. Toby stood up and shook Josh's hand, looking him straight in the eye.

An hour later Donna stuck her head in the doorway of Josh's office. "Do you need anything? I was just about to go for lunch."

"No."

"You sure?"

"I bet Toby I could go longer without asking you to do something than he could without asking Ginger. If I win, he comes camping. If I lose, we stop bugging him."

"You did what?" Donna asked, surprised. "You're never going to win that!"

"Why do you say that? I can figure out what I'm doing for a couple of days," Josh asserted. Donna looked at him sceptically.

"We'll see." She turned around and walked back into the hall. A minute later he realized he didn't know what time his next meeting was.

"Donna!" he called after her, but caught himself. He hoped it had been too noisy in the bullpen for Toby to hear.

"What?" she asked, turning back.

"Never mind!"

-~-

"Josh, you're late," Leo said as Josh hurried into his office for senior staff.

"Yeah, I..." he trailed off, seeing Toby smirking at him from where he was sitting on the couch next to Sam. CJ stood across from Leo, who was sitting at his desk.

"Never mind. We were just going over the parks piece. I understand you're meeting with the party leadership to go over the draft proposal."

"Yes. This afternoon...I think." Leo narrowed his gaze and peered at him through his glasses.

"You think?"

"Unless something's changed. But I'm going to get them to help us frame it in such a way that if we can't swing the votes it'll look bad on the Republicans."

"We have to get the votes," Leo admonished.

"And I think we can," Josh clarified.

"The framing will put extra pressure on them to come on board if we do it right," CJ stated. Leo nodded.

"Ok." He gestured towards Josh. "You going on this camping trip?"

"I was planning on it."

"Good. It can't hurt to spend a couple days on the ground floor looking at the goal of the policy you're drafting." He turned to Toby.

"The head of the EPA is coming here for a meeting at three. I need you to take it."

"Me?" Toby asked, pointing to himself.

"Yup. Figure out what he's going to want from us. What kind of issues he's been getting out there on. Gotta make him feel like he's being taken seriously in all this."

"And you think I'm good at making people feel like I'm taking them seriously?"

"You're gonna be this afternoon."

"Ok," Toby agreed reluctantly.

"That's it for now." They left Leo's office, Toby and Sam following behind Josh and CJ.

"Josh, do you have any idea what the head of the EPA is going to want? Does he want anything more than a seat at the table?" Toby asked as they neared the bullpen. Josh shrugged.

"I'd like to talk about it but I have to go get ready for the thing with the party leadership."

"I hear he's been making some statements this month that could indicate some kind of strategy," Sam added. Josh hoped Toby couldn't see his smile. Out of the corner of his eye he could see CJ was grinning, knowing what was coming next.

"Ginger!" Toby called. "Get me everything the head of the EPA has been saying for the past three weeks." Josh spun around and saw the energy drain out of Toby as he realized he'd lost the bet. Sam gave Josh a high-five.

"Oh, God," Toby said resignedly. CJ turned around and gave him a sympathetic smile. She patted him on the arm.

"Better stock up on some bug spray, Tobus," she said.

"Looks like _I'm _not the one who needs extra help," Josh gloated.

"What time is your meeting with party leadership?" Toby asked pointedly. Josh looked dumbfounded at the question.

"Donna?" he called, turning around and heading towards his office. On his way he called back, "I still won!"

"You kind of fell into that one, huh?" Sam said before heading into his office.

"Yes, thank you," Toby admitted with annoyance. CJ followed him into his office.

"You know if you're really going to hate it, you don't have to come," she said quietly as she stepped into the office, shutting the door behind her. He sat down at his desk and leaned back, steepling his fingers.

"So who won?" he asked, an edge to his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Your game. The game to get me to come. Who won?" She sighed.

"I'm not sure whether that was Josh or Sam," she admitted, feeling a sense of guilt about the way she'd handled things. She took in a breath. "I wasn't trying to get you to come for the game," she said simply, "I just wanted you there."

He took a long look at her face and could tell she was saying exactly what she felt. It was this type of moment with her that always made him feel a tugging in his chest, caused by the realization that even though she was so good at hiding things, she would choose to share her feelings with him, and by the fuelling of the hope that she might, she might...

"Why didn't you say that before?" he asked softly.

"Would it have convinced you?" He considered for a moment and drew in a shaken breath before replying, a smile quirking the edges of his mouth, "Maybe." CJ felt a vague flicker of nervous anticipation.

"So you're coming?" she asked hopefully. He shrugged.

"I lost the bet." CJ smiled with a combination of relief and excitement. A knock at the door startled them and CJ turned to see Ginger opening the door.

"Am I interrupting? I have some of the statements."

"No, that's fine," Toby replied. Ginger came in and handed him the file.

"I'm going to go now." Trying unsuccessfully to contain her enthusiasm, she added, "You're not going to regret it."

"I'm not sharing a tent with Sam," he called after her, "He talks in his sleep."

* * *

**Hopefully more to come in a few days. In the meantime, let me know what you think!**


	3. Stars and the Moon

"I almost thought we weren't going to get away," Josh observed, glancing back at the White House from the back seat of Sam's car as they hit the road. The summer sun was still reasonably high in the sky. CJ zipped up the black hooded sweatshirt she wore over her white tank top with jeans and rolled her passenger window half-way down to enjoy the temperate wind.

"It's a good thing CJ managed to move the press off that story or we wouldn't have," Sam observed.

"Toby's actually coming, right? I got an extra tent," said Donna, who was sitting beside Josh wearing a Georgetown T-shirt and bleached jeans with running shoes, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, a large backpack on her lap.

"He's not sharing with me and Josh?" Sam asked.

"He said you talk in your sleep," Donna stated, "and Josh snores, so you're even."

"He's coming," CJ confirmed. "He just wanted to take his car in case there's an emergency and one of us has to come back." Josh scoffed.

"He's hoping there's an emergency and he won't have to stay," he argued. CJ frowned, feeling defensive.

"He's coming," she snapped, and then felt a brief flash of mortification for almost losing her temper. She knew they noticed because no one said anything for a few minutes.

"Can you move your seat any further forward?" Josh asked CJ after a while.

"No, Josh. I'm already the tallest person in the car and I have 3 bags of food on the floor up here so it's not like I have a lot of space."

"And why am I the one holding your backpack?" Donna asked, indignantly, "You don't have any bags over there."

"Why do you think I let you come?" Josh deadpanned.

"Wow," Sam said sarcastically, "I can't wait to spend a weekend with you guys." CJ looked over at Sam and gave him an apologetic look.

"I was looking at the trail map and I think our site is next to a great hiking route. I was thinking maybe we could check it out tomorrow morning," Donna offered, trying to perk up her fellow passengers.

"Sounds good," Sam agreed. CJ nodded. Donna looked at Josh, who seemed less than impressed.

"Toby had better come," Josh scowled at her, "He's got the beer."

* * *

He wasn't alone on the road; it seemed like a number of other people are heading out of the city, chasing the last gasp of summer. Toby turned on the car radio and tried not to think about anything but the road and the words of the announcer, who was reading an excerpt from a new biography of Jefferson.

"_When the Declaration of Independence was signed on July the Fourth, Jefferson was said to have remarked..."_

Toby smacked the steering wheel in frustration. "That's a myth! Get it right, people!" He reached over and switched the station, passing over a conservative talk show and a pop music station and settling instead on a jazz station playing Dave Brubeck's _In Your Own Sweet Way. _He smiled wryly to himself, knowing that choice of music wouldn't help distract him. What were those lyrics again? _There's nothing I can do/Nothing I can say/You'll do what you want to/You'll go your own sweet way._ Basic rhymes, even pedestrian, thought Toby, but they get their point across.

Normally he thinks in words, envisions the words typed in a bold serif font on a slightly yellowed page. But when he thinks about CJ it's images and feelings, and words, but spoken ones.

Her words from long ago, voice painfully quiet: "Toby, I can't...I mean, we've only known each other for...I have plans...I'm sorry." He'd looked down to the street from his tiny Brooklyn apartment on the eleventh floor to see if he could see her leaving, but all he could see was the glowing neon of the mattress store sign across the street: "Sweet Dreams." The sign is the image that always comes with those words.

Then there's the image of her long fingers with nails painted a dark pink wrapped around her wine glass with a lipstick print she's left on the rim. And there are his words, almost an echo: "I can't...It's been a long time since I...There's Andi...I have to go."

And now these new words, hers: "I just wanted you there."

A friend in college who was studying Psychology once told him that he believed in measuring opposing emotions on a scale. But whereas most people have a scale of 1 for most sad to 10 for most happy, he joked that Toby's must go from -5 to +5. Toby wonders if the anxious tightening in his chest he feels as he sees the turnoff for Lynn Lake is only because, for the first time in many years, he considers the possibility that these new words have placed him on the verge of pushing up the top end of that scale.

When he pulled up to the information booth the Ranger gave him directions to the campsite and let him know his friends had already paid for him. The camping area appeared to be laid out along a series of parallel roads heading down to the lake, with similar sites large enough for a couple of tents, a vehicle, a picnic table, and a campfire on either side of the road, the sites divided by a line of trees. The sun was beginning its descent behind the trees as he turned into the road the Ranger had pointed out. He could see Sam's car with its trunk open part-way down the road. As got closer he could see Donna standing near the car, hands on her hips, grinning at something across the road. CJ was just behind Donna, looking the same way and laughing. She turned at the noise of his car and gave him a big smile and waved as he pulled in behind Sam's car. Then he saw what she and Donna had been watching: Josh and Sam attempting to put up their tent. CJ and Donna's blue nylon tent was already up in the site across from Josh and Sam's but the guys were having trouble with their larger canvas one.

"I thought you said you were in Boy Scouts," Josh whined as the structure collapsed again.

"Tell me again why you didn't want a modern tent like everyone else?" Sam asked.

"He said he didn't trust them," Donna shouted in response. "Hi, Toby!" she added, waving at him.

"If there's a fire at least we won't be in a death trap," Josh argued.

"Hey," CJ said, coming up to Toby. She put her hands in her pockets. "How was the drive out?"

"Fine," he said. He was realizing two things. The first was that he was overdressed. The women were in jeans, Sam was in a sweatshirt and track pants, and Josh was in shorts and a T-shirt. Toby hadn't had a chance to change after work and was still wearing a light yellow dress shirt and black pants. The second was that he had no idea how to put up a tent.

"I'll come help with your tent," CJ suggested. "Then, maybe you want to get changed?" Toby smiled at how she'd unknowingly read his mind.

"What's funny?" she asked.

"Nothing." CJ grabbed a black nylon tent bag out of Sam's trunk, slung it over her shoulder, and walked over to the other side of the site where Josh and Sam were setting up. Toby followed her over to where she was laying out the fabric of the tent and putting together one of the poles. It looked easy enough. He grabbed the other pole that was on the ground and started following her lead. Once the poles were assembled she crouched down and began threading one pole through the loops and clips on the tent. Toby started on the cross-piece.

"Help me check to make sure these things are all on," she suggested. Toby bent down and started checking the clips starting from the opposite side of the tent from her. Almost at the middle of the tent they reached for a clip at the same time and her hand fell on top of his. He stopped at the touch, looking down at her hand resting on his, surprised by the realization she was leaving it there longer than was necessary and the warmth he felt spreading up his arm. Say something! Then she pulled her hand back and busied herself with the other pole.

"Sorry," she said quietly. They began to stand up the tent. As Toby put his end together he could hear Sam and Josh still bickering in the background, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that Donna had gone over to help them with their tent. Toby stood up and looked over the tent at CJ, who was finishing up by knotting some ties around the poles. He watched her working, focusing on her long fingers, trying but failing not to think about her touch. After a minute she felt him staring and looked up.

"What?" He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"I didn't see you rushing to help Josh and Sam with _their_ tent," he pointed out. She gave him a self-conscious smile and looked away again.

"No, you didn't."

* * *

"Here." Donna passed the bug spray to Josh. They were sitting around the campfire on lawn chairs that Donna had managed to dig up. Toby had changed into track pants, a T-shirt, and runners, and was furiously swatting mosquitoes away from his head.

"I think these things are out to get me," he said angrily.

"Pass it to Toby after," CJ suggested to Josh. She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and stared into the fire, feeling its warmth on her face contrasting with the cooler air at her back.

"They just like your smell," Donna contributed and then continued, "Does anyone know any good campfire songs?" She looked around the fire at her friends. Josh rolled his eyes. Sam didn't look up from his book. Toby was spraying a giant cloud of bug repellent around him, looking aggrieved and CJ gave her an apologetic look.

"Come on, CJ," Josh encouraged. "Other than Donna you have the most experience with this kind of thing."

"Not happening."

"We should've brought a CD player and had you do the Jackal," Sam said.

"Except for the whole no electricity thing," Josh pointed out. He reached down to the briefcase beside him and pulled out some paperwork, which he started to read. Donna sighed and stood up.

"I'm going to check out the outbuilding and maybe take a shower."

"Don't get eaten by a bear!" Josh called after her, not looking up from his papers. Donna stuck her tongue out at him. CJ stood up too.

"I'm going to walk down and check out the lake," she said.

"Need a flashlight?" Sam asked.

"I'm ok." The almost-full moon was reflecting off the surface of the lake and she headed towards where she could see it shining. At the end of the road a wooden dock ran about 10 feet into the lake. On either side rocks lined the shore and she thought she could see a cliff face on the other side of the lake. She took in a deep breath and smiled at how fresh the air smelled and at the sound of crickets and frogs all around. She took off her shoes and socks and rolled up her jeans before dipping her feet in the water.

"Is the water cold?" Toby's voice came from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw him standing there, shadowed by the night, two bottles of beer in his hand.

"It's not bad." She patted the spot beside her and he sat down, passing her a bottle. "Thanks," she said, taking a drink. "Try it," she suggested, gesturing to the water.

"Not happening."

"Come on," she cajoled, "The lake's not going to bite."

"Something in it might." But he relented, taking off his shoes and socks and putting them behind him next to CJ's.

They both leaned back on their hands and looked out at the moonlight on the lake, talking about safe topics, moving back into the more charted territories of their friendship. CJ felt the alcohol going straight to her head and she believed she could stay there all night like this. She didn't know how long they'd been talking when Toby stretched and when he leaned back again, placed his hand over hers lightly. She felt a shiver of expectation run through her. It could've been an accident but she didn't think it was. She turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his while still looking forward, afraid that if she met his eyes it would push things too far and he'd pull back.

"You know, when we were little my Dad would take us out in the backyard and he'd tell us the stories of the constellations. I wish I'd paid more attention; I don't remember most of them anymore."

"Try," he suggested. She tilted her face up to the sky and looked, trying to see something she recognized.

"There," she said finally, pointing with her free hand. "That thing that kind of looks like a 'W'. That's Cassiopeia. Well, and there's the big and little dippers. I think my dad had a story about how they were spoons for a giant..."

"I take it he wasn't much for the Greek history?"

"I think he thought his way was more fun." Out of the corner of her eye she could see Toby wasn't looking at the sky; he was looking at her. She was glad it was too dark for him to see how she flushed briefly at the realization. Then again, she rationalized, it probably didn't mean anything. They were just having a friendly conversation.

"You guys ok?" CJ whipped around to see Donna coming down the road with a flashlight. She and Toby quickly withdrew their hands. "Oh, sorry to interrupt," Donna said. Toby stood up.

"No. That's fine," he said, bending over to put on his shoes and socks. CJ withdrew her feet from the water, watching him with disappointment.

"It's late. I just wanted to make sure neither of you got lost or anything."

"Yeah. I should get to bed," Toby said, excusing himself and heading up the road.

"Goodnight!" CJ stood up and called with a sigh.

"Night!"

"Is everything ok?" Donna asked when Toby was a little farther down the road.

"Yeah." CJ pulled on her shoes and grabbed her empty beer bottle before following Donna back to their tent.

Later CJ snuggled down in her sleeping bag and tried to sleep, but she felt wide awake. The bag was too short and she had to curl up her legs to fit. Donna was reading a paperback by the light of her flashlight. She glanced over at CJ and saw her eyes were open, staring at the ceiling of the tent.

"Is the light keeping you up?"

"No. It's fine." Donna shut her book.

"So what's going on with you and Toby?" she asked. CJ debated pretending not to know what she was talking about, but realized Donna might not let it slide.

"It's a long story," she sighed.

"I'm not going anywhere," Donna offered.

"What do you want to know?"

"You two always seemed...closer than anyone else. And just now? By the lake? What was that about?"

"I'm not sure," CJ said honestly. She turned on her side to face her friend and took a deep breath before continuing, "When Toby and I first met we were spending a lot of time together on the campaign. You know how it gets; a lot of late nights. And after we lost we ended up drinking back at his place. And at one point he said that he wanted to be with me. And I kind of freaked out."

"Why?" Donna asked.

"I still don't really know. I was younger and I had these big plans and it was too soon. I said I just wanted to be friends and it seemed like that was going to work. By the time I realized I'd made a mistake he was with Andi." Donna furrowed her brow.

"What about now?"

"That stuff was a long time ago. I don't know if we can go back. Him being there means too much to me, and I don't know if he feels that way anymore."

"Oh, he does," Donna said surely. CJ gave her a little smile, not sure if she felt more excited or scared by Donna's conviction. "Can't you guys talk about it?"

"We don't talk about it."

"Why not?" CJ thought about the question for a moment, then replied simply, "Because talking never worked in the past." Donna considered.

"Then I guess you have to try something different."


	4. The Word of Your Body

**Thanks to those who left feedback! To everyone else, there's still time and I'd love to hear what you think! **

**Also FYI this is the chapter where the M rating kicks in **

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CJ woke to the beeping of the alarm on Donna's watch. She felt exhausted from not sleeping properly and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the sound would stop. She heard the rustling of Donna's sleeping bag, then the beeping stopped.

"Time to get up," Donna announced. CJ groaned.

"What time is it?"

"Seven. I'm going to make breakfast and then we can go scout the location for the press conference." CJ slowly crawled out of her sleeping bag into the chillier air of the tent.

"Weren't we going for a hike or something?"

"The guys said they wanted to talk to the rangers about security arrangements. We can go hiking later or tomorrow." Donna was rifling through the backpack she'd brought. CJ reached into her duffel bag and grabbed a towel.

"How are the showers?"

"Only a couple of them work. You might want to suggest fixing them to the President for the policy." CJ frowned and shoved the towel back into the bag.

"Maybe I'll just go swimming later."

"Make sure Toby's around so he can see you in the new swimsuit," Donna suggested, winking at her.

* * *

Donna was the only perky one at breakfast as they sat around the table drinking instant coffee and eating instant oatmeal made with water they'd boiled over the fire.

"I thought you guys were used to getting up early," she said, peeling a banana.

"It's easier if you don't have a rock sticking into your back and a sleeping tent-mate who could give Chatty Cathy a run for her money," Josh grumbled.

"Just don't let him fall asleep near a reporter," CJ said with a grin.

"You're exaggerating," Sam defended. Toby pushed aside his plastic bowl and stood up.

"You ready to get going? Sam and Josh stood up too.

"No, don't worry about it. I can do the dishes all by myself," Donna said pointedly, starting to clear things up. CJ stood and put her hands on her hips.

"I thought Donna sent out a dishwashing schedule before we left. Isn't it your turn, Josh?" she asked.

"Me?"

"Toby was on lunch and I'm with Sam on supper," CJ outlined.

"You know, you're kind of sexy when you're bossy," Josh said. CJ rolled her eyes and turned to follow Sam and Toby down the road.

"Why am I on lunch by myself?" Toby asked as they headed off. Josh saw CJ loop her arm around Toby's waist casually.

"Because we're having hot dogs and Donna thought you could handle it," she said playfully. She glanced back and quickly dropped her arm. "Donna, I'll meet you down by the Ranger Station," she called over her shoulder.

"Yup. Be right there!" Donna piled the dishes into the plastic tub they'd brought. Josh, meanwhile, stood with his hands on his hips, looking at his friends' retreating figures. "Are you coming?" Donna asked as she headed towards the wash stand by the outbuilding at the end of the road. Josh blinked.

"Yeah," he said slowly, picking up the small bottle of dish soap and dishtowel she'd left on the picnic table. "Have you noticed anything going on with Toby?" he asked when they'd got to the washing area and Donna was filling the sink with water. She feigned ignorance.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I was expecting him to complain a lot, but he seemed like he was – I don't know – eager to get going this morning and I didn't hear him get back to his tent until pretty late last night." Donna dumped the dishes into the soapy water. She knew CJ probably wouldn't want her repeating the things they'd talked about, but she hadn't specifically said not to tell Josh. And if he asked, she couldn't just lie. She pushed the dishtowel into his hands.

"He was on the dock with CJ," she said simply, avoiding his eyes.

"Doing what?"

"I think talking and drinking and looking at the stars," she said, leaving out the part about holding hands. Josh frowned.

"Toby," he stated, "Stargazing? What's going on, Donna?" She sighed.

"You can't say anything. I didn't promise not to tell but I think it was implied, and..."

"Ok, slow down. Tell what?"

"Toby and CJ..."

"Yes?"

"I think there's something going on, or maybe it's more that there's not, but maybe there should be..."

"You're really not helping here." Donna sighed in exasperation.

"I should get one day a week where I don't have to spell things out for you. Toby and CJ..." Suddenly it dawned on Josh what she was saying.

"You're saying he's happier because..." Donna nodded emphatically.

"And she told you she wants..." Donna nodded faster.

"But she told you nothing happened, right?" Josh said seriously.

"Yeah."

"Good." Donna furrowed her brow.

"Why good?"

"Come on," he said. "They work together. Leo would throw a fit." Donna frowned and turned back to the remaining dishes.

"You think it would affect their work?"

"It might." She didn't know how to argue back. She couldn't expect Josh to accept that Toby and CJ being togehter just felt right when she thought about it.

"Don't say anything," she pleaded. Josh frowned.

"I won't for now," he agreed.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, after lunch and a game of poker around the picnic table, Donna and CJ went to their tent to get ready to head down to the lake.

"Very classy. You're going to have to tell me where you got that," Donna observed, looking over at CJ in her new suit. Donna was wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit. CJ had put on her chocolate-brown bikini with a halter top and a high cut on the bottoms that made her legs look endless. CJ smiled as she grabbed her towel and flip flops.

"Too bad I'm probably only going to get to wear it for the next two days."

Donna grabbed her towel and sandals and unzipped the door of the tent.

"Well I bet it'll make Toby smile," Donna pointed out, unable to help herself. She stepped out of the tent and faced the tent door, waiting for CJ.

"You know on the first campaign I worked with Toby I had a bet with this other girl who challenged me to make Toby smile once a day for the whole campaign," CJ said as she looked around for her sunscreen.

"So did you win?" Too late Donna thought to look around to see if anyone was in ear shot. She looked behind her and saw Toby holding a garbage bag and looking embarrassed to have walked in on their conversation. Donna's eyes widened.

"I can't remember. I think after two weeks I might have given up," CJ replied, crawling out of the tent and immediately noticing Toby. There was an awkward pause as CJ stood frozen to the spot and Toby was torn between processing what he'd heard and trying not to stare at how great she looked in that bathing suit. CJ noticed him looking and felt a rush of warmth through her body.

"Hi," she managed to say finally.

"Hi," he replied. "You look...nice." He could've kicked himself for not being able to find a better word. He quickly added, "I was just seeing if you two had any garbage you wanted me to take out."

"Nope," Donna said, shaking her head a little too vigorously, still looking embarrassed. CJ shook her head and wrapped her towel around her waist.

"Ok." They all stood there for a minute more, then Toby let out a laugh that sounded relieved. "I'll go then," he said, starting to turn. But he stopped himself, and said to CJ with a smile, "You didn't give up."

"What?" CJ asked.

"On the bet on that campaign. I just thought you knew you were doing it without trying." Then he turned and headed back towards the guys' campsite. CJ stood there, feeling a mixture of surprise, nerves, and almost giddy happiness. Donna elbowed her.

"I'm ok," CJ blurted out. "Let's go."

* * *

"How was the lake?" Sam asked that night when they were sitting in the light of the campfire. CJ, Donna, and Sam were roasting marshmallows for s'mores and Toby was making notes on a draft of something Sam had written during dinner, using a battery-powered lantern to read his notes.

"Great. Everyone was over at the beach so the dock here was pretty quiet. Why didn't you guys join us?" Donna asked.

"We hiked around the lake to the top of the cliff," Sam replied, then yawned.

"You know, man stuff," Josh added. CJ rolled her eyes and speared two marshmallows onto her sharpened stick before putting it in the flames.

"Actually, I'm pretty tired," Sam observed.

"Me too," Josh said.

"But in a manly way," Donna added with a grin.

"That goes without saying," Sam agreed. Toby, not seeming to have been paying attention, suddenly said, "He's _trying_ to make sure our grandchildren have a place to go...? You couldn't think of a better word than trying?"

"I'll look at it tomorrow," Sam agreed.

"Toby," CJ said, leaning over to where he sat next to her, and snapping her fingers to get his attention. He looked over. "Put away the statement." He obediently shut the notebook. She reached down and turned off the lantern, then pulled one of the marshmallows off the stick and held it up to his face. "Open up," she instructed and he took the marshmallow in his mouth, feeling his blood rush as his lips just barely brushed her fingers before she withdrew her hand.

Out of the corner of her eye CJ noticed Josh looking at them strangely so she stood up and held the other marshmallow out for him. He took it with his fingers and popped it in his mouth.

"Fanks," he said, mouth full. They sat and chatted for a while, eating marshmallows and drinking lukewarm beer. Toby and Sam headed off to get ready for bed first. Then CJ remembered she'd left her sunscreen down by the dock.

"I'd better go get it," she said.

"Wait until the morning," Donna suggested.

"I might forget. I'll take a flashlight." She headed down the road and found her sunscreen where she'd left it at the lake's edge. Then she took a moment and flicked off the flashlight and walked out onto the dock. The moon was partially obscured by clouds but there were still some stars visible and CJ sought out the familiar shapes they made in the sky. Alone for really the first time that day she admitted to herself that she was a bit disappointed that Toby had gone to bed so early. Their trip was more than half over and she felt an aching in her stomach thinking about going back to work on Monday and having everything be the way it had been the week before. She wanted more. She flicked the flashlight back on as if the beam of light could make the feeling go away.

* * *

When CJ got back to her tent she unzipped the door and was surprised to see Josh in her sleeping bag, fast asleep and snoring softly. Donna was lying on her back reading and she looked up from her book guiltily.

"What's going on?" CJ whispered.

"I'm sorry. He said he couldn't sleep last night with Sam's talking so I said I'd switch with him but I wanted to wait until you got back so you weren't confused." She started to get up but CJ held up a hand to stop her.

"No, that's ok. I'll switch for tonight. I think I might have earplugs." Donna rolled her eyes.

"If you have extras, I'd love a pair. I'm not sure how Sam managed to sleep the way Josh snores." CJ smiled.

"G'night," she said before ducking back out of the tent. She started walking across the road toward the canvas tent where Sam was sleeping, but on the way past Toby's tent she had another idea. She felt her heart start to hammer in her chest as she unzipped the door to his tent and crawled inside. She realized he was sleeping and hadn't heard her come in, and she almost turned tail and left. But she had already come this far.

She saw the battery-powered lantern near the door and she flicked the switch, watching the fluorescent bulbs blink on. In the washed out light she saw he was lying on one of the air mattresses with a blanket underneath and his sleeping bag over him. She slowly took off her sweater and put it on the floor behind her, now wearing just a tank top, black sweatpants, and socks.

"Toby?" she whispered. She saw him open his eyes, blinking a few times.

"CJ?" He propped himself up on his elbows.

"Shhh. Josh took my tent. He got sick of Sam's sleep talking," she whispered.

"So you're coming here? Where's your sleeping bag?" She swallowed hard and crawled up towards his face, trying to read his expression in the dim light.

"I don't think I'm going to need it." She touched his face gently and looked down at him, getting a rush of imagination, seeing the two of them kissing passionately. She was torn between excitement and fear but when he didn't push her away she shakily she leaned down and softly kissed his cheek, then his mouth in a tacit admission of need. Toby shut his eyes and opened his mouth to her, reaching a hand around to hold the back of her head and bring her closer to him, letting her explore his mouth with her tongue. With a free hand she pushed away the top part of his sleeping bag. Running her fingers down his chest she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and she felt him shiver slightly at her touch.

They kissed for a minute or two more, CJ wasn't counting, practically hypnotised by the gentle insistence of Toby's lips, the softness of his tongue contrasting with the faint scratchiness of his beard. When she lifted her head up slowly to look at his face she was breathing heavily from the rush of reciprocity she'd felt in the kiss. Toby reached his hand up and caressed her cheek, then ran his fingers over her lips.

"CJ," Toby whispered, achingly ready and yet wholly unprepared for this, "What are you doing?" She kissed the tips of his fingers softly.

"We're trying something different. Now don't say anything." She pushed the sleeping bag back further and straddled his thighs, noticing Toby's erection pushing up the fabric of his boxer shorts. He reached up and brushed his thumb across one of her nipples, which were visibly hard through her tank top. CJ gasped as he fondled her breast, looking at her hungrily. She bent down and began kissing him, enjoying the taste of his lips, the soft skin of his neck, his ear, and his chest. She felt his warm hands running up and down her back, pushing under the fabric of her shirt. She sat back and stretched her arms out, letting him sit up and pull the shirt over her head. He looked her up and down intently, even worshipfully for a minute and CJ felt herself flushing in the heat of his gaze. Then he bent his head down and took one nipple in his mouth, causing her to let out a low moan. He used his hands and mouth to lavish attention on her breasts and she tangled her fingers in the hair at the back of his head, arching toward him.

"Oh God, Toby," she whispered. She felt an uncontrollable need growing inside her but wanted this to last forever, afraid this might only happen once. Toby's hands moved around to her back and in one motion he laid her down on her back and slowly began to pull down her sweatpants. He had agreed not to talk, so he asked permission with his eyes. She nodded.

Seeing her lying naked in front of him Toby couldn't help it. "You're beautiful," he said softly, eyes dark with lust, and CJ smiled and held out her arms for him. He leaned down to kiss her, one hand roaming down her side and over her stomach before gently working its way towards her slick core. His hand brushed her opening and he felt a rush of arousal realizing how wet she was. His fingers felt so impossibly good that she cried out, not caring if anyone else heard.

She brought one hand down into the waistband of his boxers. Toby drew a breath sharply as her fingers brushed the tip of his member. She helped him out of his shorts with one hand while the other one caressed his hardness. Their eyes met and he saw the same intensity that he felt reflected back.

"Please," she managed to gasp. Toby hesitated for a second.

"CJ, are we? Are you...?" he asked, voice almost shaky. She figured out what he was asking.

"I'm covered." Toby couldn't wait any longer; he parted her legs and pushed inside of her slowly, realizing how overwhelming the feeling of perfection was, being completely inside her. His whole body moved against her and he barely realized she was kissing him as he gave in to the rhythm. Moving faster he felt her breathing quicken and he lifted his head to look at her. CJ felt her blood swell in her temples, her breasts and her fingertips, and finally, hotly, deeper inside her, tighter, until she broke and came hard, crying out as she shuddered and clenched around him. This was too much for him and he came almost immediately after, shouting her name before collapsing on top of her.

Toby lay there for a minute, his face buried in her neck, noticing the scent of her and the feeling of her arms wrapped around him, trying to memorize it. Then he lifted his head and looked down at her face. She smiled at him apprehensively.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. She shut her eyes.

"I'm praying that you're not about to tell me that this was a mistake." She didn't see him shake his head but he answered again when he bent down and kissed each eyelid lightly before slowly pulling out of her. He lay down on his side beside her, drawing her tightly against him, and pulling the sleeping bag over top. It was only moments before they both sank into a deep sleep.


	5. Til There Was You

The minute Toby opened his eyes he was overtaken by the realization that CJ was here, still asleep and curled tightly against him. He looked down at her face, peaceful in the morning light, and felt a tugging in his chest that was a mixture of fear and something more powerful, a warm and expanding feeling that he was afraid to name.

The arm he had wrapped around her was beginning to fall asleep but he didn't want to wake her. He silently berated himself for not being able to stay awake to let this feeling sink in. There was no getting around it; she was going to wake up soon and even though she'd initiated what had happened last night, the chain of events had left a lot of room for uncertainty about the future.

But she was here now, for at least a few more minutes, so Toby tried to push away the anxiety and focus on how she felt in his arms: the feeling of her breath against his neck, the softness and warmth of her skin. But the numbness in his fingers eventually grew more acute and he tried to gently extricate his arm from underneath her. CJ stirred at the movement and her eyes blinked open. Realizing where she was, she smiled at him. She reached up and touched his face, framing the side of it with her hand. Then she moved her hand to the back of his head and tangled her fingers in his hair. Her eyes never left his and he wondered if she could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he replied, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"So we should probably..." he was interrupted mid-sentence when CJ pressed her mouth to his, hot and demanding. All thoughts left Toby's mind as he kissed her back and moved on top of her, letting his hands explore her body. After a minute he came up for a breath and looked at her face, his eyes dark with wanting.

"What were you going to say?" she whispered. He looked back blankly and then remembered.

"That we should probably talk about this," he replied lamely. She smiled and brought one hand around to lightly brush his already hard member. He shut his eyes. "How about later?" she suggested. He nodded and went back to kissing her neck down to her collarbone. CJ let out a ragged breath and arched into him. Just then, Toby froze, hearing the sound of footsteps on gravel nearby.

"Good morning!" they heard Sam call as he walked past their tent toward the road.

"Morning," Josh and Donna replied. Toby wasn't sure what to do. He just hoped like Hell no one would decide to come looking for them in his tent. He felt CJ trail her fingertips lightly up and down his hardness and she looked at him as if she didn't care about what was going on outside the tent. The heat of her gaze penetrated through him and he bent down and took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking it hungrily. CJ gasped, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle the noise.

"Is CJ still asleep? She's supposed to make breakfast," Donna's voice said, and they could hear footsteps moving closer to Toby's tent.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, "I thought she was with you." CJ groaned inwardly and pushed Toby back gently, giving him an apologetic look. Toby nodded and they started pulling their clothes on.

"No. Josh took her spot and her sleeping bag so she was supposed to switch," Donna said. "She wasn't in your tent?"

"Nope." CJ felt as if she had just found out that the media had got wind of something she hadn't figured out how to spin yet. She wished she'd listened to Toby earlier and tried to talk about this. And now they were going to get dragged out without any consensus on how they wanted things to proceed. For all she knew, he was going to decide this thing between them was better left at Lynn Lake. She felt an anxious tightening in her chest at the thought and she stole a glance at Toby, hoping to be able to tell what was on his mind. He was pulling on a pair of socks and he didn't look up. She felt an overwhelming urge to do something to stop him from slipping away, to let him know this wasn't a one-night thing for her.

"Oh. She must be in Toby's tent then," Josh guessed. CJ pulled her shoes on and then, kneeling, turned back to Toby, who was sitting tying his shoes. Impulsively, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He looked up, surprised at first by the gesture and the vulnerability in her expression. Then he nodded, meeting her eyes, and she felt a little bit of the panic subside. She only hoped he knew what she was trying to say.

"Wait," Sam said. "Did you say CJ and Josh were going to switch sleeping bags? Because Josh's sleeping bag is still in my tent." CJ and Toby could hear their friends pause in their conversation and CJ let out a quiet nervous laugh, knowing what they were trying to piece together. Toby grinned, too, amused by how long it took before Donna broke the silence, saying, "Oh. My. God." CJ unzipped the tent door and stepped out into the sunlight just as Sam was saying "No" in disbelief. As soon as they heard her, all three of their heads snapped in her direction. Donna was grinning, Josh looked disconcerted, and Sam just looked stunned.

"Good morning," CJ said nonchalantly. "I'm just going to go have a quick shower and then I'll start breakfast. Hope that's ok for everyone." Toby came out of the tent behind her and not wanting to be stuck alone with the three of them said, "Yeah. I'm going to go have a shower, too." There was nodding; no one really knew what to say. CJ went to get clothes and a towel from her tent. Donna silently worked on starting the fire as Josh and Sam sat down at the picnic table.

When they saw CJ and Toby were out of earshot, Sam said, "So that was what I think it was, right?" Donna had her back to the guys and was glad Josh couldn't see the smile she was having a hard time repressing.

"Yeah," Josh verified.

"Well, it's about time, I guess," Sam observed.

"What? No!" Josh exclaimed.

"You don't look happy."

"I should be happy? It's inappropriate."

"Wait, do we know that they're...together? It could've just been a one-time thing."

"Does it matter?" Josh stood up and put his hands on his hips.

"What are you going to do?" Donna asked, dismayed. Josh paused, deep in thought.

"I don't know."

* * *

When CJ got back from her shower she found Donna sitting at the picnic table, reading her novel.

"Where is everyone?" CJ asked, hanging her towel on a tree branch. She had changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a dark blue tank top and was feeling more refreshed and composed. Her hair was already drying in the sun.

"Sam went to shave, Toby isn't back yet, and Josh went for a walk," Donna said, "I don't think he was very happy about..."

"Me and Toby," CJ finished.

"Yeah." Donna looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot. "What happened?" she added quietly.

"I don't really know. I took your advice, sort of."

"But are you two..."

"We haven't really talked about it," CJ admitted.

"Well now's your chance," Donna said. CJ turned and saw Toby approaching them.

"I have to make breakfast," CJ said, turning back to Donna, who waved her off.

"Don't worry about it." CJ smiled at her and headed over to meet Toby.

"Hey," she said, giving him an apprehensive smile.

"Where is everyone?"

"Sam's shaving and Josh went for a walk." Her throat was suddenly dry but she noticed he looked as nervous as she felt and she managed to say, "Want to go down to the dock with me?"

"Yeah," he agreed. CJ glanced over her shoulder at Donna as she left and saw her friend give her a thumbs-up. They made their way down the now-familiar path to the dock. When they got there CJ sat down with her knees pulled in to her chest, half-looking out at the water, which was sparkling in the sunlight. Toby sat cross-legged and looked down at the dock. There were families swimming at the beach on the other side of the lake, but no one in earshot. A long, tense silence descended as they each waited for the other one to talk. They broke at the same time.

"So..." she began.

"So we should talk."

"Yeah. About what's been going on between us these last couple of days," she said quietly, trying to avoid directly meeting his eyes. Toby raised his eyebrows and she knew what he was thinking, "Ok," she admitted, "Maybe longer than the last couple of days." A small smile quirked the corners of his lips and he took a deep breath.

"CJ," he began, "I have to know what you want. If this means more than...what we had before." He was having difficulty with his words and she knew how hard it was for him to say them. He was asking the question she'd been asking herself for a long time, only now it couldn't wait. She searched his eyes, trying to guess what answer he wanted. When she didn't answer right away, he looked down, saw her hand in his. With bafflement he noticed her fingers had linked with his and gripped tight. She noticed it too.

"I want this. I want you," she said simply, "I don't think I can go back." She turned to face him and shifted so her legs were underneath her. She saw him looking at her with a mixture of disbelief and hope and she realized she was shaking as she asked, "What about you?"

"CJ," he began, breaking into a smile. He took her other hand and brought it in so he was gripping both of her hands with his. And then he laughed because for the first time with her he found the exact words he was looking for. They came out easily: "I think I've been in love with you my whole life."

CJ opened her mouth to reply but her voice caught in her throat so she answered by leaning in to kiss him full on the mouth. The kiss was both electric and overwhelmingly right. When they parted after a minute they sat, resting their foreheads together. CJ had stopped shaking and she finally managed to whisper, "Me too." She had never seen Toby smile as broadly as he did then, and the smile was infectious. Their lips had just met again when they were distracted by a buzzing coming from Toby's pocket.

"My phone," Toby said, startled. He answered it and CJ could tell from Toby's side of the conversation that it was Leo.

"Yeah?" Toby continued. "Senator Stewart? One sec. CJ's right here; I'll let you tell her."

"Hi Leo," she said.

"How's it going? You enjoying yourself?" Leo asked. She smiled at Toby.

"Yes. Definitely."

"That's good. There's something about places like that; they make you fall in love all over again," Leo said.

"Sorry?" CJ asked. How did he know?

"With this country," Leo clarified. CJ let out a breath.

"Right."

"Anyway I'm sorry to cut it short but I need you all back. Senator Stewart had a thing with the Majority Leader and it looks like she'll be coming over to our side. I'm going to need everything ready for her and the President to make the announcement tomorrow morning."

"That's great news," CJ replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Ok, I'm going to call Josh. I hope you got what you needed out there and I'll see you in a few hours." CJ hung up and handed the phone back to Toby. He pocketed it and stood up, extending a hand to help CJ to her feet.

"Good news, huh?" she said. He nodded.

"Too bad it happened today."

"Yeah," she grinned, "I was looking forward to finishing what we started in the tent this morning." Toby raised his eyebrows.

"Well the sooner we get back and get this thing organized the sooner we can make that happen. In the meantime, ride back with me," he suggested. She nodded.

They walked back to the campsite hand in hand to find Josh deep in conversation with Leo. He looked like his mood had improved from the news.

"Hey," Donna called, "Josh is on with Leo. Do you know what that's about?"

"We have to go back. Senator Stewart is crossing the floor to us," CJ explained. Donna looked disappointed, but then noticed CJ and Toby were holding hands and she brightened up a bit.

"Ok. Let's start packing," she stated.

* * *

**Feedback is helpful and appreciated as always!**


	6. Being Alive

**Well this is it! Thanks to all who read and/or reviewed. And thanks especially to CJ.T, an awesome friend and the best West Wing buddy/beta ever!**

* * *

"I'm going to park. Do you want me to drop you off?" Toby asked. The ride back had been mostly business, with both CJ and Toby on their cell phones at times. But at one point Toby felt CJ rest her hand on the back of his neck and he felt the same warmth he'd felt earlier that day on the dock. He felt at a bit of a loss. He was used to being disappointed, but now it seemed things were working out, and he wasn't sure how he was managing to concentrate.

"Sure. I have to make sure the Senator's not agreeing to any media spots that I don't know about." Toby glanced at her and saw she was thinking the same thing he was.

"Also if we stop at my place first we might not get back to work at all today," he said with a quiet smile.

"That too," she agreed. When he stopped to let her out she felt an impulse to lean in and kiss him but out of the corner of her eye she saw Carol coming out the door to meet her and she knew they would both need to focus on work for the next several hours. Starting the gossip mill wasn't going to help that. So instead she reached over and squeezed Toby's knee. "I'll see you later." She opened the door and grabbed her briefcase from under the seat.

"Carol," she called as she shut the door, "Please tell me I have a change of clothes in my office." Carol looked her up and down, acknowledging the shorts and t-shirt might not be work-appropriate.

"I think so. That light blue suit with the skirt?"

"Okay. Give me ten minutes. Then I'm going to see Leo. Then I'm going to need the deputies for fifteen minutes and then I'm going to need to talk to the networks." Carol nodded, making notes as she followed her inside.

"Got it."

"Thanks."

"By the way," Carol added, "You look a lot more...relaxed than a few days ago. Had a good trip?" CJ smiled broadly. She didn't know why she felt like this. Normally if some guy told her he loved her after only one night she'd cut and run. But it wasn't really just the one night, she reasoned, and Toby wasn't just some guy.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

* * *

The afternoon was hectic and it wasn't until 4 that Leo called them into his office for the senior staff meeting. Josh stood, his arms crossed, while CJ and Sam sat on the sofa and Toby took an armchair.

"Sorry I cut your trip short," Leo began, "But this is good news and we need good news. I want all the media coordinated from here." CJ nodded.

"I've already talked with Senator Stewart's staff," she confirmed.

"Sam's working on the President's remarks and I'm almost finished with the talking points for the Senator," Toby added.

"Come on. She's always trying to look independent. You think she's going to go for that?" Josh asked derisively. Toby raised his eyebrows.

"I already ran it by her," he replied slowly. Josh nodded reluctantly, jaw clenched.

"Okay..." Leo said, trying to diffuse the awkwardness in the room. "Do we know what the Republican response is going to be?" Sam jumped in.

"They'll try to dismiss it. Maybe throw out an announcement to try to take attention away?"

"Well that's obvious," Josh said under his breath. CJ and Toby exchanged a look. There was a pause.

"All right then," Leo said, "Let's get back to work. Josh, find out what they're going to announce." Josh nodded.

"Got it," he said, quickly leaving the room, followed by Sam. CJ followed Toby into his office.

"What do you think is going on with Josh?" she asked, keeping her voice down. Toby shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"Think I should try to talk to him?"

"Nah. I'm sure he'll get over it." CJ nodded.

"Okay." She glanced behind her to make sure no one was looking, then quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to get back to work, but I love you."

"You too. If it's not too late, come over tonight?"

"I don't care if it's four in the morning. I think we've wasted enough time already."

* * *

It was one-thirty by the time they got back to his place. CJ kicked off her shoes and the minute Toby locked the door behind them CJ pressed him against the door and kissed him passionately. He responded, hands moving through her hair, over her shoulders as the kiss roughened, and he pushed her down on the entryway rug, covering her. His lips brushed hers, teasing, tasting. The hardwood floor was digging into her shoulders and as much as she didn't want to break the kiss she pushed him back slightly.

"Bedroom?" he asked and she nodded. He extended a hand to help her up and he slipped off his shoes before following her upstairs. By the light of the side table reading lamp Toby undid his tie and then slipped CJ's suit jacket off her shoulders. He skimmed his hand up her side and felt the reaction as his fingers closed lightly over her breast.

He lowered his mouth to her jaw and heard her moan. Her taste, along the soft, vulnerable spot where he could feel her pulse, flooded into him.

"God, Toby," she whispered.

Her fingers dragged over the back of his head to bring his mouth back to hers. To pull him under with her.

CJ felt the edge of desire as their tongues met again, flushed as he pulled her shirt off and undid the clasp on her bra. She unzipped her skirt and left it in a puddle on the floor. In the tent she had initiated but now Toby was in the driver's seat. Firm and possessive. He maneuvered her towards the bed and laid her down on top of the covers. The line of her throat drew his lips over and down.

She yielded and he felt the change, not just in the giving of her body. The night before he could barely believe this was happening but now he was mesmerized by how natural it felt. His hands slowed, gentled, inciting more trembles with a kind of lazy deliberation that made her feel light-headed.

He let his hand glide over her right hip and worked his finger under her panties. As she parted her legs he moved his hand downward and felt how wet she was. Her breath caught and let go.

Pleasure shimmered over her skin, warmed and sensitized it. With what self-control she had she began working on the buttons on his shirt. He moved to help, unbuckling his belt with his left hand and pulling down the zipper. She sat up and pushed down his briefs, bending down to take his hardness in her mouth. Toby drew a breath and shut his eyes, summoning all his strength to hold on. After a few minutes he gently lifted her head, put one hand under her shoulder and guided her back down onto the bed.

Need leaped in her stomach. He teased her swollen nipple with his teeth and she moaned loudly. Still sucking and kissing, Toby slid her panties down her legs. He bent his head down between her thighs and began to explore her with his tongue, making her reel. She choked out his name, fighting against a panicked excitement that threatened to swallow her whole. He lifted his head at the sound, looked at her open lips and needed to kiss them, so he did, right before he slid into her with long strides.

"CJ," he cried out hoarsely. Soon his urgent need overtook him and he quickened and deepened his pace. CJ came first, moaning and collapsing into shudders. Toby followed soon after. As they caught their breaths CJ smiled as she noticed their hearts beating at the same time. When he lay down beside her after a minute she curled up beside him and laid her head on his chest.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered, stroking her hair. She smiled.

"That we should've done this a long time ago. What about you?"

"That, and that we should tell Leo."

"I agree. Josh, Sam, and Donna already know. And if she hasn't already, I'm sure Donna will tell Margaret. Better he hear it from us."

"You think he'll be okay with it?" CJ felt the same worry that Toby did, but brushed it aside.

"I hope so. Besides, I should be the master of taking out the trash by now."

"So tomorrow afternoon?" CJ looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was almost three.

"Don't you mean today?"

"Yeah. We should get to sleep." He reached over and turned off the light.

* * *

"Does he have a minute?" CJ asked Margaret, who nodded. CJ and Toby went into Leo's office, where CJ quickly shut the doors and they made their way over to where Leo sat at his desk, wearing his reading glasses and glancing at some papers.

"Ahem." Toby cleared his throat and Leo looked up, seeing them standing there, looking slightly nervous.

"Yeah? Oh, CJ, thanks for handling that location change. I think it went well. The press is happy?" CJ nodded.

"They seemed fine with it. And the Senator only strayed slightly from the talking points, so I think she's safe to do the morning shows tomorrow. But actually, we have something we else we need to talk to you about," CJ said. Leo looked surprised.

"What is it?" Toby and CJ looked at each other, not sure which one should speak. Leo took off his glasses and eyed them carefully.

"Well," CJ began, choosing her words carefully, "You're probably going to hear soon enough that Toby and I..."

"...we're...well...seeing each other…well that's not really…" Toby cringed, trying to find the right phrase, but Leo interrupted him.

"Well, I never thought I'd see it," he said with a broad smile. Toby furrowed his brow.

"So you're fine?"

"I know you can keep it out of the job when it needs to be. You think it's going to mean you can't argue with each other and have your own opinions?" CJ looked at Toby and smiled. They turned back to Leo.

"No," Toby replied.

"And the President?" CJ asked.

"I can't see him having a problem with it. Besides, we need you two and even if I wanted to, there's nothing I could do about it. Sometimes you write the story and sometimes the story writes you. And this story has been writing you two for it seems like a long time." CJ took Toby's hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you," she said, smiling, "We'd better get back to work."

"Right," Leo said. As they headed out the door he called after them, "Congratulations." CJ glanced at Margaret and saw her hand hovering over

* * *

"What's going on?" Sam demanded, shutting the door of Josh's office behind him. The words were out of his mouth before he noticed Donna standing in the corner, holding a legal pad. Sam considered coming back later, then decided Donna was more likely to take his side in this one.

Josh looked up from his desk.

"Good job on the President's remarks yesterday."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"Yeah," Josh began, "I'm sorry I kind of snapped at you in the meeting yesterday."

"Seriously, what's going on? Was that still about CJ and Toby?"

"You snapped at him?" Donna asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'm going to tell Leo," Josh announced, ignoring Donna.

"Why?" Sam asked, both angry and confused.

"Because it's inappropriate. We can't just run around sleeping with each other! Didn't they think about how it could affect their work?" Josh argued. Sam got quiet.

"I didn't see you ratting me out to Leo when I was seeing Lori," he stated. Josh stood up, seeming not to have heard.

"I'm going to go talk to Leo," he said, heading past them into the hall.

"Josh..." Donna tried to call after him, but he was already gone.

He stormed into Leo's office. Leo looked up from his desk.

"Hello..."

"Leo, you know I don't like doing this but I have to tell you that CJ and Toby kind of...got together on the camping trip this weekend."

"Yup," Leo agreed calmly. Josh crossed his arms and frowned.

"You guessed?"

"They already told me. What's your problem with it?"

"They work together!"

"You were dating Mandy on the campaign," Leo pointed out, barely looking up from his reading.

"That was different. This is the White House." Leo took off his glasses.

"It's not like this is a huge leap. You can't tell me Toby and CJ weren't close before," he began.

"Well, no," Josh agreed.

"I've already told them that I and the President are fine with it." Josh sat down. "And I could mention that right now the only person whose work is being disrupted by this is you," Leo added, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. He put down his pen and looked at Josh, who was frowning. He continued, more quietly, "You're not upset about them. I don't know, but I think maybe you're angry because you see Sam and Mallory, Charlie and Zoey, and now CJ and Toby. And you're unhappy because you feel like you're missing out." Josh looked up.

"I'm not unhappy," he replied, but Leo could tell he was considering the thought.

"All right. Now that's all the time I have for this. Talk to the minority whip about the parks thing. See how many votes we have to work with." Josh stood, nodding.

* * *

On Friday night Carol stuck her head in CJ's door.

"CJ, your dad is on the phone." CJ sighed.

"Okay. Thanks. And you can go. It's late and I'm wrapping up here. Have a good weekend." Before she could pick up the phone Josh came into the doorway, wearing his coat, briefcase slung over his shoulder.

"I'm just heading out but I just wanted to say…I'm happy for you and Toby." CJ smiled, knowing it was his way of apologizing.

"Thanks."

"So we're okay?"

"Yeah." She hesitated slightly before adding, "Can I ask what changed your mind about it?"

"Something that Leo said." She looked at him quizzically.

"And Donna," he added quickly, "has been lobbying me pretty hard all week. I think she saw what was happening before I did."

"Maybe before I did," CJ acknowledged.

"Anyway, I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks. See you on Monday." As Josh headed out CJ picked up the phone, buoyed by her talk with Josh but dreading the conversation ahead.

"Hi. Sorry about the wait," she said to her dad.

"Who is this? Why are you calling me?" CJ exhaled.

"Dad, its CJ. And you called me. Is everything ok?"

"Claudia Jean?" he asked, bewildered.

"Yes, Dad," she said slowly, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. How are you? What are you working on?" His voice had a different tone when he was forgetting things, it sounded a bit hollower, and CJ recognized the tone now, but decided to just keep talking normally.

"Well we're doing this policy to re-invest in the National Parks Service, to make repairs and increase access. It's a good policy. We actually stayed at one of the parks close to here last week for a few days."

"There's a national park in LA?" CJ shut her eyes and willed herself to be patient.

"No, Dad. I'm in DC, remember? I work at the White House?"

"Of course, I'm just kidding," he said after a brief hesitation. "We went camping once, at a national park: I took you and your brothers." She brightened, surprised that he'd remembered.

"Yes. That was a nice trip. This place was nice, too."

"And how's that man you're always talking about…Toby?" His tone had changed; he was back. CJ was surprised; she hadn't expected her Dad to even know Toby's name, definitely hadn't expected him to pick up on her feelings. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Toby in the doorway of her office and she motioned for him to come in.

"He's good, Dad," she said, smiling into the receiver, "We're good." Toby and sat down on the other side of the desk. He pointed at the phone and mouthed, "Your dad?" and she nodded.

"Does that mean you two are finally…" he trailed off.

"Yes."

"If you have time for one piece of advice from your old man: don't run away this time."

"I'm not running," she confirmed, glancing up at Toby, who smiled.

"Good. Now go have a good night, CJ."

"You're okay, Dad? Are you by yourself?"

"Don't worry about me. She never lets me out of her sight," he said, referring to his wife.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you, CJ." She hung up the phone and Toby came over to her as she stood. He saw her face streaked with shiny tears. He reached up and brushed them away with his thumb, then looked her in the eye, concerned.

"You okay?" She nodded, smiling through the tears, and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm perfect." He reached a hand up to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

They headed out, holding hands.

_-the end-_

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**Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought!**_  
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